Santana's homer lifts Brewers over Phillies
PHILADELPHIA -- Domingo Santana launched an eighth-inning, tie-breaking home run off Philadelphia's Hector Neris and the Milwaukee Brewers handed the Phillies their eighth loss in nine games on Saturday.
Santana turned on Neris' 3-and-1 offering, a 94-mph fastball, and drove it to left field to give the Brewers the lead in their eventual 6-3 win.
Scooter Gennett sent the crowd at Citizens Bank Park to the exits one inning later, pounding a 3-and-2 fastball from Andrew Bailey up the middle for a two-run, two-out single.
Santana and shortstop Jonathan Villar, both former Phillies farmhands, came back to haunt their former club.
Villar started the scoring with a leadoff home run off Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson to put the Brewers ahead, 1-0, before an out was recorded.
The Phillies scored three times in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. First baseman Tommy Joseph led off the Phillies half with a towering home run to center field off Junior Guerra, his fourth since being called up for his Major League debut on May 13.
Two batters later, Tyler Goeddel launched a stand-up triple off the wall in left-center field.
That was followed by Cesar Hernandez's home run to nearly the same spot. The home run was Hernandez’s first since May 30, 2015, some 501 at-bats ago.
Those three runs in the second would be all Guerra gave up. The right-hander pitched six innings, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out a pair.
Guerra's offense got him runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Villar singled home Santana in the fourth before Jonathan Lucroy -- who earlier extended his hitting streak to eight games -- tripled and scored on a Chris Carter sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Hellickson's day ended after five innings. After needed only 79 pitches to complete seven innings in his previous start, the righty labored through five innings throwing 108 pitches Saturday.
Hellickson scattered seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in his five innings.
Like in his last start Monday, it was his bullpen and a struggling offense that let him and the Phillies down.
NOTES: Milwaukee SS Jonathan Villar, who hit a home run on Friday, successfully reached base for the 12th straight game with his leadoff home run. Villar has reached safely in 49 of his 54 games this season. ... Despite the club's recent slide, Philadelphia's bullpen entered Saturday with the lowest ERA (2.93) in the National League since April 26. ... The Phillies will pick first in Thursday's MLB First-Year Player Draft for the second time in franchise history. ... Milwaukee sends RHP Wily Peralta (3-6, 6.51 ERA) to the mound in the series finale on Sunday to face Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (4-4, 2.88), who celebrated his 23rd birthday Saturday.